Bone Dancer
by Racing the Sunrise
Summary: A lot of people have skeletons in their closets, even I do. Too bad for my enemies, I carry those skeletons with me at all times. And they love to fight.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own it…are you happy now? Making a girl cry, shame on you!

* * *

Naruto didn't want anything to do with the dog. He knew that the adults at the orphanage would kill any animal that was following him around; they had done it before. So when the boy who stayed in one off the dorms had a spotted dog with him, Naruto stayed clear of it. He didn't want them to think it was his and kill it. The dog never hurt anybody, yet.

That night he was forced to sleep in the basement. The overseers had given his room to a new boy and thrown his stuff into the underground room. It wasn't the fact that it was underground that scared him, in fact, the closer he was to the ground, the better he felt. Living underground was his dream-come-true. No, it was that it was unbelievably cold in the basement, even in the summer months. So Naruto was left was left shivering every time he slept down there. He was drifting off to a less than comfortable sleep when a warm body plopped down beside him. Reaching out, he felt the warm, fur covered body next to him. 'Oh no! It's the dog.' The scooted closer to the five year old and its warmth soon stopped his shivers. Naruto didn't have the strength to push the animal away and before long he was asleep.

Pain and screaming woke him up in the morning. For some reason he couldn't open his eyes or breathe, there was something being held over his face. He could hear fine though.

"Look what you did! The poor beast has to be killed now, you've corrupted it!" Naruto knew the best way to survive the next few minutes was to stay still. He didn't move as his body ate through his supply of oxygen and began to shut down. He had woken up like this so many times that his body had gotten used to not being allowed air. He could go awhile before he really was in trouble. The pressure over his mouth and nose was shortly gone and he was allowed to breathe again. Looking up, he could see the female caretaker holding a ratty pillow in her grubby hands. "Because of you that dog is gonna die. Ren took it in the back and buried it. Get the hell up and get the hell out!" Naruto scrambled to get away and out. He stayed on top of the Hokage monument the whole day.

"I didn't want anything to do with the dog. I didn't want anything to happen to it." The two sentences repeated themselves in his head like a mantra. He headed back to the orphanage with a heavy heart. When he got there, the caretaker threw him into the basement without dinner…again. Tonight started like yesterday night; no dinner, thrown into the basement, and a dog comes and helps him fall asleep. 'Wait, a dog?!' Naruto reached out and felt the dog's fur. It was eerily similar to the dog's fur from yesterday, only full of dirt. The dog shifted until it was right next to Naruto and curled its tail around his small body. This action made Naruto feel protected.

'I will always be with you Naruto-sama.'

"Did you just talk to me?" His voice could barely be considered a whisper.

'Go to sleep. I will protect you.' And with that, Naruto fell asleep.

--

Screaming awoke Naruto in the middle of the night. He sat up to see the caretaker hitting a furry something with her broom. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, "Why won't you die?!" She sounded hysterical and Naruto could see why. The animal she was hitting was the same animal she had killed yesterday. The same animal she watching being buried, and the same animal she saw curled around her most hated charge. The thing was filthy; covered head to claws in dirt and its fur near the throat was smeared with clotted blood. Before she knew it, the dog jumped on her and held her throat in its jaws.

"Don't kill her. She's not worth the trouble we'll get into." Naruto yelled. The dog slowly let go and got off of her. It walked over to Naruto and motioned for him to get on. Naruto's body easily fit onto the dog's back with a little room to spare. "I'm not coming back to the orphanage." He then motioned for the dog to go forward and it walked up and the stairs and out into the street. "You know, in a few years, I won't be able to fit on top of you."

'Do not worry, I will stay by you no matter what happens.'

"How can you talk?"

'Your power gives me power. I am your watcher, and as such I am more powerful than any others you may summon up from the earth. I was the first.'

"Oh. Does this mean I can control zombies?"

'No, I am made from bone. Soon my left over flesh will rot and fall off, leaving only the bones.'

"Oh. How do you know so much?"

'Your power, your knowledge. You know all of the answers to these questions; you just don't realize it yet. As your watcher, I am tied to you and your knowledge is mine. Only I can reach the knowledge you have yet to unlock.'

"Wow. So where are we going?"

'The only place I know you will be safe, the Hokage monument. We will stay there for awhile till we can contact your Hokage.' They spent the rest of the trip in silence. When it stopped, Naruto laid down and the dog stayed next to him.

"Will I have more watchers?"

'Maybe, it has happened before. The forms your watchers come in have something to do with your future.'

"What do you mean?"

'I am a dog. In your future, you have many dealings with somebody related to dogs. You will also have to deal with someone that resembles any other watcher you may call. Like a snake or crow.'

"Why did you use those animals as examples?"

'Because you have called them, look.' Naruto rolled over in his spot between the dog's big paws to see a five foot bone snake slithering toward him. Before he could move in the direction of the reptile, a bird dropped out of the sky and landed next to it. The bird was able to fly because it still had pieces of flesh attached to its wings. Both of them moved to stand near their master and in the moonlight, Naruto was able to make out two kanji on their foreheads. Together the symbols formed _hakkotsu_meaning skeleton or bleached bones. They waited for Naruto to speak before they decided to talk themselves.

'Naruto-sama, it is a pleasure to be in your presence. I, crow, promise to aid you in any way I can.' The bird spread its wings and showed off its three foot wingspan.

'It is also a delight that I, snake, have the opportunity to assist you as well.' The snake then moved forward and wrapped around Naruto's upper body. Not to be outdone, the crow hopped over to Naruto's head settled itself next to his shoulder.

'Go to sleep, we will protect you.' Naruto went to sleep for the first time in his life not worrying about what the next day held.

Naruto didn't want anything to do with the dog. But now the dog would go everywhere with him along with the snake and crow. That thought alone made Naruto warm on the inside as he slept.

* * *

AN: Well, I want some opinions on this. And some ideas (I do have my own though). I know it's short but Dark Orb made me post it. I'll start working on the next chapter immediately, but in a week I leave for a week long trip and won't be able to get to computer. So no promises!


	2. Chapter 2

'Is it smart to go to this 'Academy'?'

'I told you already; everyone has to go into the academy to become a ninja. It is mandatory.' Naruto was sitting in the middle of his tree house with his Watchers around him. It had been a full year since the night that he gained the ability to raise bones. After he had woken up that next morning, he met with the Hokage and told him a fake story about being kicked out of the orphanage. His Watchers didn't want him to go alone, but could not figure a way to be there with him and remain out of sight. After the subject of housing came up, Naruto asked to live in the forest near the Hokage monument. His request was granted in the form of a large house carved out of a dead tree that refused to fall. It was quite literally a tree house as the whole tree form roots to the bare limbs was his house.

'I know. Is it smart to become a ninja?'

'I want to know how strong I can get. I want to be strong enough not to need Watchers.' They were wrapped around like they normally were: snake draped around his shoulders, crow standing on his right shoulder, and dog sitting on his left side. He had decided against naming them as they had yet to tell him their names. 'You are precious to me. And we don't even know if you can be destroyed. I don't want to risk it.' A humming sound was heard coming from the animal bones; Dog's flesh had completely rotted off in three months, which soothed Naruto.

Dog spoke for them all. 'We understand. Snake is just worried that we be unable to aid you if you need us.' Naruto had to give Dog a point; he could see where Snake was coming from. 'This peace won't last for much longer. Going to the academy means stepping out of the forest and talking to people.' After getting his house, Naruto had clamped up and had only spoken when necessary. He also spent most of his time in the forest around his tree. He had stopped talking out loud to his Watchers; he found it easier to communicate with them in his head. Soon he had stopped talking all together as there was no one to talk to.

'Then I'll bring at least one of you with me then.'

'Snake can stay wrapped around your stomach and out of sight under your shirt.'

'Better yet, you all come and I show the villagers not to mess with me anymore.'

'We do not think that is the best solution.' They had all spoken at once.

'Just think about it, we'll show the villagers why they should leave me alone. It's getting annoying how many times they come over here to terrorize me.'

'Fine. But during your time off from the school you will start training with us into you power more.' So far Naruto had only learned how to preserve Crow's wings so she could continue to fly.

'That's awesome! Do you know what else my ability can do?' The animals drew closer to him to keep him warm as the sun fell under the horizon.

'You are quick to agree. In the future you must spend more time thinking over the consequences of your decisions. From what I can tell, your ability focuses on bones, whether it works on your own bones remains to be seen. We can help you learn how to call those in the earth near you for now.'

'Go to sleep now Naruto. You have to get up early and show us off tomorrow.'

'Somehow I knew you would like the idea of me showing you off to everyone Snake.'

--

When Iruka woke up this morning, he was excited to start the new teaching year. He expected loud children running around with screwed ideas about ninja. He had a plan for every situation that could happen that day; from a village wide evacuation to a little kid's nose bleed. What he wasn't expecting was Naruto Uzumaki and his pets. Or skeletons he should call them. The first thing he noticed was the dog, how could you not see a 24 by 40 inch skeleton dog sitting in the desk next to someone. But Iruka could handle it; he refused to break down on his first day back after break. 'As long as nothing else goes wrong, I'll be fine for today.' Too bad for Iruka, all of Naruto's Watchers were with him today.

Since Naruto was sitting in the back, he got made it to roll call before someone noticed something was wrong with a few of the bodies in the class. He managed to get out, "Hyuuga Neji," before he was cut off by an ear piercing scream.

"IS THAT A SNAKE?" The scream caused everyone to look back at the source of the screaming, a black headed girl who was pointing towards a blonde student. Upon closer inspection, Iruka could see that she wasn't 

pointing at the boy, she was pointing at the bones wrapped around his neck. Bones that formed a snake, a five foot snake.

'That's a big snake.' Iruka could feel himself grow sick at the thought of a five foot bone snake. He knew he was going into mental shock, hell he was already thinking at a five year old level. The shock wore off as another student screamed.

"THERE'S A BIRD TOO!" Indeed there was a bone bird sitting on the boy's right shoulder. Snapping back to reality, that seemed stranger than fiction (love that movie), Iruka figured out that he needed to get the class beck in order. The only way he knew to that is to yell at them, very loudly.

"Everyone SHUT UP!" He continued when everyone was focused on him and not the corpses. "Naruto, could you please come down here and explain why you have…bones with you in class." The student gave a quick nod and got up to walk to the front of the class. As he moved toward the front, the dog got up and followed right behind him. This caused some commotion that was quickly silenced by a glare from Iruka. When he finally stopped, the dog sat back on its haunches and watched the students' movements.

"Hello, I am Naruto Uzumaki." He stopped to clear his throat; he had stopped talking so it was hard for him to suddenly start. "These," he motioned to the snake, bird, and dog, "are byproducts of my bloodline trait awakening. I don't know or understand everything about it, but they will stay with me and protect me." His voice sounded raspy to everyone in the room. "I hope this will not be a problem, but I will not be separated from them."

"You won't be Naruto and thank you for the introduction. Now, who is willing to sit next to Naruto?" Most of the students kept their hands down but I Iruka was happy to see one hand in the air. "Okay Naruto, you will stay in the back with Hideaki. Is that fine with everyone?" Seeing no one willing to complain, Iruka nodded to Naruto, Who walked up next to the boy who still had his hand up. The other smiled at him and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Hideaki. Nice to meet you." Naruto gave a quick handshake before sitting in the far seat, leaving poor Hideaki to sit next to the bone dog. As Iruka started a lecture over the class curriculum for the year, Naruto took the time to observe the boy sitting next to Dog. He was easy to look over as he had no distinguishing features; average brown eyes, brown hair, and a tan face. The only notable trait was high cheekbones that are usually seen on paler faces. "I hope we can get along. I think the bones are cool."

"Thank you." His reply was cold, but didn't seem to throw the boy off. For the rest of the class Hideaki told a nonresponsive Naruto all about his life.

'I think you should trust him.' Naruto gave no outward sign that he had heard Dog, but answered him using his mind.

'I don't know. I'll keep watching him and decide later.' At the end of the day, Naruto was slowly walking back to his house when Hideaki called out to him. "Hey wait up." When he caught up, the boy continued on to his tree.

"What?" It sounded harsher than he meant it to, but his throat was sore from all the use of the day.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me to get something to eat. It could be fun."

"Why do you care?" This stopped the other boy. He kept his head down and voice low while he answered.

"It's my fault, all of it. If I hadn't have come that night, you wouldn't have slept in the basement. If that hadn't happened, you wouldn't be living alone like you do now." He had broken out in tears right after starting to answer and now he was all crying. When he looked up, Naruto saw the tear tracks and the sorrow in the boy's eyes. "I'm sorry, I really am. I just want you to forgive me."

"Err..." 'What am I supposed to say?' Snake, sensing his discomfort, wrapped closer around Naruto.

'Do you forgive him?'

'There's nothing to forgive, it wasn't his fault.'

'Then tell him that.'

Naruto held up his hands to the boy, effectively cutting him off in the middle of his cry-fest. "I don't see why I should forgive you for something you didn't even do. It wasn't your fault the caretaker acts the way she does." Hideaki looked stunned at his words.

'_How could he be so forgiving?_' In Hideaki's mind, the whole episode with the dog was his fault. He expected to have to beg Naruto to forgive him, but here he was saying that he wasn't to blame. Hideaki blindly followed Naruto through the village, caught up in the words Naruto was speaking. Currently they were on the topic of where he was living. The boy at that time registered that Naruto had asked him a question. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked where you wanted to eat." Naruto was looking at him with worried eyes.

"The ramen stand down the road, it is so good."

"Okay, lead the way." After they ate supper, Naruto and Hideaki separated to go to their own respective beds. Hideaki stopped Naruto before he could go very far with a shout.

"Hey, Naruto, wait a second." Naruto jogged back to his new friend. "Here, I want you to have this for your dog." In his outstretched hands was a dog collar. It was a worn piece of black leather that had a medallion hanging off it. The piece of aged metal was inscribed with the kanji _mamoru _which meant 'to protect'. "He protects you, so I thought it was fitting." Naruto took it out of his hands and put it around Dog's bony neck.

"Thank you very much." He said with a small bow.

"Don't do that! We're friends now right?" He nodded. "Then this is a gift from one friend to another. Goodnight Naruto." With that he was gone, into the orphanage to sleep, while Naruto turned with a smile on his face and headed home. It was a friendship that would have lasted for decades, if not for the villagers.

* * *

Naruto was numb. He couldn't feel anything as he kneeled next the body of his one true friend. He had run to the middle of the crowd as soon as he heard their cries of "demon lover" and "poor corrupted soul". The inner rings of people were viciously beating a seven year old body into the ground.

'No! Hideaki!' Naruto roughly pushed his way past the crowd and into the small area near his friend. He shakily checked for a pulse, but deep down he knew he didn't need to. His power had control over the dead bone in an area; he could sense Hideaki's death in the air. Sensing the dead was the first task his Watchers had him start on. He continued to kneel next to the body even as they started to hit him. He didn't feel anything; he was caught up in the memories of the time they spent together. 'Only a year. I only knew him for a year.' He finally spoke out loud.

"It's not enough. He was my friend, a year is not ENOUGH!" His yell caused the people to back off and allowed his Watchers to come up next to him. Dog was snarling, Snake pulled himself up in preparation to strike, and crow took to the air, preparing to gouge out some eyes. In response, the villagers backed up even farther. Naruto didn't see the chunin come up and fail to get past Dog and Snake. After the unsuccessful attempt to get passed the reanimated bones, the chunin took out a kunai and threw it at Naruto's unsuspecting back. It hit right between the shoulder blades and buried up to the grip in his back.

"So it's not enough that you killed him, but now you're trying to kill me? That's it; I'm tired of hiding my ability." Naruto hadn't really been hiding a whole lot, but intimidation gave you an edge in combat. And his whole life was one large combat zone. Naruto stood and cut his thumb on his elongated teeth. Spinning around, he forced the wound to stay open as he started his ritual. His movement caused a half circle of blood to land on the ground in front of him, splattering Snake and Dog in the process. He continued to move in what appeared to be random directions. None of the nearby people noticed that the blood was slowly forming a seal on the ground.

"Lo! Death has reared himself a throne in a strange city lying alone. Far down within the dim west, where the good and the bad and the worst and the best have all gone to their eternal rest. I call from this place, them all to serve me in bringing these others into Death's embrace." After he spoke his lines, Naruto stopped moving and the seal on the ground glowed maroon. Out from the seal, twenty skeletons rose up and started moving towards the crowd of people (idiots), intending to follow their summoner's request. They didn't get very far before several ANBU stood in front of them. Seeing as the soldiers didn't receive any new orders from Naruto, they formed a circle around the boy and kept everyone away from him. Dog, Snake, and Crow had each moved closer to Naruto when it started and were now right next to him.

"Naruto-kun, you can stop now. There is no one else here to hurt you, the crowd is gone." Naruto looked over to see the Hokage speaking to him from in front of the ANBU. Since the threat was gone, Naruto decided to send the troops back to where they came from. He swiped at the seal and disrupted some of the blood.

"So blend the turrets and shadows there that all seem pendulous in air. While from a proud tower in the town, Death looks gigantically down." With that, the skeletons slowly sank into the ground and the blood was absorbed into the street. Naruto's vision wavered, and he soon fell into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

Ax: Done! Hope you like it. I only got done this fast because the other chapter was so short. So don't expect ANY of my stories to be updated this fast. Oh, and the chant (or poem) Naruto used to summon the soldiers is not owned by me. It is mostly "The City in the Sea" by Edgar Allen Poe. Which I love. Anyway, the character Hideaki was based off of my friend (drum roll) Dark Orb! Sorry for killing you! But fear not, you shall return! And don't anyone complain that I ruined it for them by saying that. I spent way too much time on his character to kill him off…permanently. I have a poll posted on my bio page. check it out. Please?

Ax


	3. Chapter 3

Look what someone said about the last chap:

DD- So Naruto is some kind of necromancer with lame lines and no intent to kill?

You'd think they show some originality, I mean, come on! They even used my name! yes he is some kind of necromancer but Edgar Alan Poe is not lame and he's seven, just summoned a shit load of bone soldiers after suffering from emotional trauma. He passed out before he could give the order to kill! I feel better now…I don't plan on doing that for every flame, but that was just too….idiotic to go uncriticized. Any flames actually pointing something out that I messed up on will be appreciated, but flames such as the one above will be ignored. Plenty of people like this story and I don't care if idiots don't like it. So there. Now, let's get to the thing your actually here to read…the story!

* * *

"Is everyone here? We need to do team placements now." Iruka called to the class. Neji Hyuuga stood up.

"I believe Naruto isn't here yet." He sat down as soon as he answered the question.

"We'll wait a few more minutes for him then." Iruka missed how the boy acted a few years ago, when he was still friends with Hideaki. Back then, even though he was quiet, he still talked. But now, you couldn't get Naruto to talk for anything; he went completely mute after that day. After numerous days of having to look for Naruto in the crowd of kids, taking time out of teaching time to do so, Iruka had assigned Neji to speak for him in class. It saved quite a lot of time when he was taking roll.

Even though no one had heard his voice in years, he was still a good ninja. His grades in the class were only second to Neji himself and even that was by a small margin. Iruka wouldn't worry for him when he became a true ninja, but he was worried about the mental stress of going a missions. His Watchers still come with him everywhere and the dog even growls at anyone who gets to close to Naruto. Iruka has even see the snake bite someone for glaring at the boy. The whole class soon learned that he wasn't someone to mess with.

"Here we are. Sorry Iruka, I just needed to borrow Naruto for a bit." Iruka turned to see an ANBU in his doorway. He didn't bother to ask what the ANBU had needed Naruto for. He had once asked the Hokage where Naruto went when he wasn't at school. The aging man had told him that the ANBU would bring him down to Ibiki if he had a criminal they couldn't crack. Iruka could see the effectiveness of the tactic; he still flinched every time he saw one of the skeletons move on their own. Which they did a lot.

"I don't mind, but you almost caused him to miss team placements." The ANBU scratched at his head in an embarrassed way.

"Well, let's hope I don't make being late a habit. Anyway, I've to go now. Nice job on him Naruto." The ANBU reached up to pat the boy on the head and received a snake bite on the hand for his trouble. He walked out without a word as Naruto calmly walked over to his seat with his dog right behind him.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, we can begin. Team 1..."

'I hate it when they touch me.'

'That's why I bit him.'

'Thank you. Whose team do you think I'll be on?'

'The practice is to put the two highest with the lowest.'

'I'm lowest.'

'How do you figure that?' Crow finally stuck her beak into the conversation; Snake talked the most, while Dog and Crow only spoke unless they were overly curious or answering Naruto's questions. Snake was the one who liked to talk, he could start a conversation over anything and hold it over nothing.

'Your scores are very high Naruto.' Dog added. His "voice" was full of the care he felt towards his charge.

'Yes, but I missed part of the exam and barely passed it. Those are the only grades they look at.' Naruto had been called out after he was done with the accuacy portion of the test, leaving the jutsu and most on the written tests incomplete. On the other hand, the prisoner was easy to break though. All he needed to do was walk in, have Snake slither off of him and onto the enemy nin and walk out. By the time the snake had wrapped around the mans neck, he was screaming like a little girl. Ibiki even commented that he was even more ruthless that day, but Naruto took no notice of him as he was guided out.

'Then you'll probably be paired with the white eyed kid.' Snake didn't see the point of learning Naruto's classmates' names.

'Neji? He's not that bad.' Neji didn't seem to mind Naruto and Iruka had assigned him to answer for Naruto, which he was very grateful for. Naruto didn't see him as a friend, he couldn't have another one of those, but he was glad he wasn't forced to talk.

"Team Three; Hyuuga Neji, Tenaska Tenten (that's a lot of tens!), and Uzumaki Naruto. Your sensei will be meeting you at Training Ground 12 and whishes you to go there immediately." They got up and left as soon as he was done talking. As they were walking, Tenten got to examine the mysterious boy that was Naruto, who she had never really taken a good look at. He did nothing to harm anyone who didn't mess with him, but she feared him enough to stay away from him. The skeletons were odd to say the least, he even had a 5' body and thin frame that made him look like a skeleton himself.

Naruto didn't wear normal shinobi gear, except the headband that hung around his neck. Instead of light weight clothing and equipment pouches, he wore a thick black coat, buttoned all the way up, black pants, and boots. His snake was slung over one shoulder and wrapped partly around his left arm, the bird was standing on his right shoulder, and the dog walked right behind him. Tenten had to admit that she liked the dog the most, but only because it was completely bone, the other two still had flesh connected to them. She found it extremely creepy.

While Tenten was examining Naruto, Naruto himself was examining the other two with him. The girl wore a pink shirt, that obviously came from overseas, green capris, sandals, and her hair pulled up into two buns. Overall, Naruto thought she looked like a panda. Neji was wearing a very nondescript beige coat, black shorts and wrappings on his right arm and leg. Overall, Snake thought he was boring.

"This is the place." Neji stopped them at the edge of a large training field. It was like most of the fields in Konoha, a patch of land surrounded by dense trees and a creek running along one side. In the middle stood two jonin. As the team walked up, they got a better look at the men. Because they stood shoulder to shoulder, Naruto thought they were twins. But upon closer examination, Naruto could see that one looked sickly while the other looked full of life. They both wore the standard jonin outfit, the only difference being the senbon in one's mouth and the katana strapped to the other's back. The sickly one spoke first.

"Hello, my name is Gekko Hayate." He settled himself down on the grass and motioned for the others to do so as well. When they were all sitting in a loose circle, the two took stock of the genin. The other jonin was the first to notice that Naruto sat away from everyone else, it wasn't a large distance, but it was enough that he wondered if the boy didn't like his teammates. He also noticed the animals were sitting around him in a way that they were closer to the team then Naruto himself was.

"I'm Shiranui Genma."

'What can you gain from them Crow?' The bird had very good eyes and had taken to describing people's personalities based on how they acted and what they wore. She had yet to be wrong about any of the ones she had judged.

'Hayate looks pale and sick with those dark circles under his eyes, but he doesn't _feel_ sick to me. He gaze is strong and stern, they hold no anger or expectations. He is one who rules by his own judgment and will not be swayed by others words.'

'I can't sense any physical ailment in his system. What of the other one?'

'I can't get much from him, but he wears his headband backwards. That expresses a free-spirited and easy going attitude. Although, when push comes to shove, he gets serious and will not hesitate to kill.'

"Okay, together we will be training you until another teacher can be found." Genma stopped when he saw Tenten's hand go up and allowed her to ask her question.

"What do you mean?"

"We will only be temporarily teaching you. Normally, a jonin will take command of a squad and teach them while taking missions. Lately, the village has been getting higher missions and all of the jonin are needed to take them. We will teach until a more permanent teacher can be found. Now, I want you to introduce yourselves." He motioned for Neji to start.

"I am Hyuuga Neji. I specialize in the Juken and poses the Byakugan. I-"

"That's all we need." Neji looked angry at being interrupted, so Genma tried to pacify him. "This cell won't be like most, some days I will be teaching, other Hayate will be teaching. It will go like this for days to even months, until another teacher can be found. We are here to teach you, not get attached; we only need to know how you fight." While he was talking, Genma's eyes grew hard and his voice lost its carefree sound. Neji knew he couldn't argue with that.

"Well, I'm Tenaska Tenten. I specialize in weapon and my family's taijutsu."

"What is the -cough- style based on?" Hayate's cough threw Tenten off, but she recovered quickly.

"Um, mostly flexibility and fast movements. The whole point is to avoid injury and gain enough space to pull out a weapon."

"So -cough- it is only used -cough- when you become disarmed?"

"Yes. Sensei, are you okay? That cough sounds bad."

"It's just a cough."

"Will it effect your ability to fight?" Neji broke in this time. He was curious to see if he would have to watch after his own sensei if he got sick during a mission.

"In a very -cough- serious fight, maybe."

"Liar." Everyone turned to find the source of the raspy and weak voice; it was Naruto. The first thing that they noticed was his eyes. They had turned a more violet color and were trained on Hayate. The jonin under the scrutiny of Naruto's gaze looked surprised at what Naruto had said. "You are perfectly healthy. Liar." His eyes went back to blue and his Watchers got even closer to the team.

"How…w-what happened?" Hayate and Genma were both staring at Naruto, "How could you tell?" Hayate spoke without the cough this time. Naruto didn't speak.

"Well, are you going to answer?" Genma's raised voice caused Dog to walk forward and Snake to move up into a striking position on Naruto's shoulder.

"Um, sensei? You might want to back up and calm down." They both looked over to Tenten. "Naruto's Watchers, the skeletons, will attack if they feel you are a threat to Naruto. I've seen the dog rip someone's throat out for throwing a rock at him." The two surprised jonin lowered their voices, but refused to sit back.

"How can he control bone?" Hayate asked.

"Why doesn't he answer?" Genma asked at the same time.

"It's a bloodline." Neji decided to speak this time. "On the first day of the Academy, he explained that they, the animals, are his Watchers. They were formed from his bloodline and protect him. As far as I can tell, he can control any dead bones and he can also summon things from another plain of existence."

"What kind of things?"

"All we have seen was a squadron of soldiers, but he may be able to summon a lot more things. We just don't know."

"I understand so far, but why doesn't he answer?"

"A few years back, his only friend was killed, and he went mute. That's the first time I've heard him talk in a long time." Tenten had answered, and Genma noted the sadness in her voice.

'So someone actually cares what happens, how surprising.'

"That doesn't explain how he knew the cough was fake."

"That's just another thing we just don't know. One time when Iruka was sick, an older shinobi taught us instead. Naruto told him that he had less than a week to live. Two days later, he passed away from a heart attack."

"That's kinda creepy" At this, Dog growled at Genma. "How can it growl if it doesn't have a throat?" Tenten and Neji just shrugged, but they didn't look surprised.

"Well, I think we should talk more about the training of this team. There will be no secondary exam, but we want to see your skills. So we will have a fight. Hayate and I against the three of you."

"Sensei, what do you mean 'secondary exam'?" Tenten asked. She had never heard of a secondary exam.

"Usually a secondary exam is held to weed out anyone not ready to be a genin. This year, it will not happen because only enough people to make three teams passed this year. If we were to lose anymore genin, we would be weakened. The Hokage saw it fit to allow all teams to go forward with training without a secondary exam."

"Let's start." Hayate said as he stood. As soon as they had all risen, they were gone. Genma and Hayate were left alone in the center of the clearing. "Who do you think will come first?"

"I don't know." They got their answer when the sky rained senbon and kunai. Genma dodged as Hayate deflected the ones after him with the katana he drew from the sheath on his back. The weapon shower soon stopped and the two faced the direction they came from. Genma jumped forward into the trees and faced Tenten. She looked scared but oddly secure at the same time.

'They can't use lethal force, but there is no way I can win.' She dodged to the left to avoid Genma's own kunai and came face to face with Hayate. She was surrounded, Hayate in front and Genma behind. She took that only way out she saw; down. She viciously stomped the branch under her and with a loud crack, it fell. Twisting wildly, she managed to jump off of trees to slow her decent, but she still hit the ground with enough force to make her lose her breath. Spots appeared in her vision, but she could still see Hayate and Genma land beside her and help her up.

"That was foolish. But you have potential, that's for sure." Tenten didn't hear the complement though, as she had blacked out. "I didn't expect her to have the strength to break the branch." Genma just smiled.

"Her leg is going to give her a hell of a problem when she wakes up." They walked back to the middle and deposited Tenten in the middle behind them. They waited for ten minutes for the next attack, this time from Neji. He ran at Genma and engaged him in a taijutsu match. 'He's pretty good.' Genma found that he was fast enough to dodge the genin's strikes, but he couldn't land any strikes of his own. Neji would twist and turn to dodge the blow and use the momentum to add more speed onto his own hits. The bout ended when Genma jumped back from Neji's juken strike and Hayate ran forward and held his blade to Neji's throat.

"Yield."

"I forfeit."

"Good." Hayate pulled his blade back and motioned for Neji to sit next to Tenten who had awakened at this point. Genma decided to talk while they waited for Naruto to attack.

"So, do you two have any idea on how Naruto fights?"

"No. I've never seen him fight before. His Watchers seem to have minds of their own but still seem connected somehow."

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake and a loud thumping sound could be heard. To Genma, it sounded like a heard of horses were galloping and he ended up being half right. To their left, three skeletons busted out of the underbrush and headed strait for them. The skeletons didn't look like anything they had ever seen; they had the haunches and back legs of horses, the chest looked to be from a dog, as did the head, but it had , and were around the size of a large wolf. The oddest thing about them though was their front two legs, they were a long bone that was sharpened at the end. The creatures were surprisingly fast despite their oddities.

"What are those things?" Genma asked as he threw kunai at the things, hoping to at least slow their charge down. Unfortunately, it didn't work and the beasts were soon on them. They acted as one and jumped towards the two jonin, slashing with their front legs. Hayate managed to parry one's slash, but another came up behind him and head butted him in the back. As he fell, Hayate stabbed the creature in the forehead and it let out a loud whine before it fell to the ground. The one that came up behind him stood on top of him and was about to rip his throat with its teeth when it whined as well and fell to the side. Genma stood over him with a kunai in his hand and helped him up. The third one had seen what happened to its pack mates and decided to back off.

"It seems that you have to hit the skull with a lot of force to kill them."

"Very deadly." From behind them, Tenten let out a scream. Genma spun around while Hayate kept his eyes on the pacing creature in front of them. He saw Naruto's snake wrapped around Tenten's chest. It's head was near her neck and it looked ready to strike.

"G-g-get this thing off of me!" Her yell only caused the snake to tighten even more. Genma turned to Neji, to ask him what had happened, but saw that he was in trouble as well. The dog had him pinned to the ground and had its jaws close enough to his exposed throat to cause him to sweat. Genma heard a screeching sound and looked up to see the bird coming towards his head, it talons were aimed right for his face. He jumped back to dodge, but ran into Hayate's back in the process. The swordsman stumbled, and the creature used the opening to hit the jonin a glancing blow on his arm. Right before the beast was about to rip out Hayate's throat, it suddenly was absorbed into the ground. Genma was looking at Neji and Tenten, so he saw the bones quickly get away from the genin and slither/run off into the bushes.

"Okay, I'm confused. Why did they go away?" Naruto walked out of the bushes at that time. His eyes looked a little tired, but his Watchers were back to their normal spots. Naruto held up his hand and showed them a paper pad he was holding.

"I won." was printed on the top sheet in big letters.

"I guess you did." Genma and Hayate were the first to recover from the fight. Tenten and Neji needed a few more minutes before they could stand up and join the other three.

"Okay, Hayate and I will think of a way to train you tonight. Tomorrow we will start. For now, go home and recover."

--

Naruto slowly walked to his tree house. He wouldn't dare call it a home, it was just the place he slept. It held no more value than a spot on the ground. He moved aside the piece of bark that served as a door, it never stormed in Konoha so he didn't need a heavy door, and walked into his main room. In the middle of the room stood his only friend.

"Hello Hideaki. I became a ninja today, just like you wanted to." His raspy voice echoed slightly in the hollow tree. Hideaki was the only one he didn't mind talking to. Everyone one else would only hear his voice if he absolutely needed to say something. The only reason he became a ninja was for Hideaki, it was his dream. It was the least he could do for the boy he killed. Hideaki, as if sensing his thoughts, reached over and hugged Naruto around the waste.

"I remember when I was shorter than you Hideaki. Now, you only reach up to my waist. Anyway, I'll be going on missions now, so do you want to go with me?" He nodded and Naruto swore he would take him wherever he went. He couldn't leave Hideaki alone anymore. After all, the last time he left him alone, he died. 'No, I won't think about it.'

Later, Naruto collapsed into his bed, sobbing. He had run out of chakra and Hideaki had collapsed. After all, skeletons can only move so long as energy was given to them, and Naruto had no more. "Hideaki…I-I'm sorry…"

* * *

Wow, that was sad. The scene was supposed to be like Sasori and his parents' puppets, sorry if it didn't work out. Anyway, Hideaki is back so stop crying, Dark Orb is alive! (kinda…) There's a poll on my bio that has to do with this story, so VOTE! Please? Don't make me use the puppy eyes no jutsu!

Ax


	4. Chap 4DO's Bday Present!

To command the Fallen is to become the Fallen.  
Only those willing to die can control the dead.

* * *

Genma sighed in frustration as soon as he left the Hyuuga compound with Tenten and Neji walking behind him. He had gotten permission from the Hokage to take his team with him on a B-rank mission. It was three months after Team Three's first practice and Genma as well as Hayate felt they were ready. The three of them all came from a superior breed of nin, even if most of the village refused to accept them. The only thing the jonin needed was parental permission. Tenten's father had taken some convincing, but eventually agreed; Neji's, on the other hand, accepted right away. The Hyuuga head then preceded to delay them with a feast and a discussion. Genma hated long winded talkers as much as their long winded dinners.

"Where are we going sensei?" Tenten asked as she carefully stepped over a huge tree root that crossed their path. The path was surrounded by thick vegetation on both sides that grew over the path as well, blocking out most light. The path itself was so steep that Neji was having problems keeping up with the hard pace Genma was setting. The jonin didn't answer, but stepped off of the path and into a group of knurled and dead trees. He led them to the center of the trees and stood in front of the largest, allowing his two charges to accept the sight before them. A tree with wood so dark it was black rose out of the ground and was decorated with skeletons hanging from faded rope on every limb.

"This is where Naruto lives," Genma said before walking up to a bare section of bark and knocking several times. The whole tree shuddered and the skeletons seemed to turn their heads slightly towards them. It was when Tenten shivered and turned away that she noticed what hung from the rest of the trees; villagers in all different stages of decay. One man even opened his eyes and reached towards the shocked duo.

"They attack this home and they hang," a wispy voice said above them. The two genin looked up to see what must have been the oldest skeleton they had ever seen. It's bones were held together by strings of ligaments, it's bones were yellow with age, and it looked ready to crumble to dust. "Every infraction must be punished…" The voice faded as a well hidden door opened to reveal a curious Naruto.

"Naruto, we have been given a B-rank mission by the Hokage. Pack at least two weeks worth of supplies and come with us to the briefing." Tenten stared shocked at her sensei's utter lack of emotion as he spoke. It was as if he was used to such sights around Naruto.

'It's not like Naruto doesn't do some creepy things,' she admitted to herself. Just last week, she had caught Naruto pulling bones out of the ground and creating little mismatched creatures with them. He then animated them into terrifying the academy students they were supposed to be tutoring. Their parents had seen and tried to make him stop, but the one that managed to get in close enough to hit him had broken his hand on Naruto's cheek. Tenten still didn't have an explanation for that one. When Tenten snapped out of her rambling thoughts, she saw that Naruto was back with a pack and Snake draped over his shoulders, Dog and Crow stood just behind them. The trip down the path and to the Hokage Tower was silent; Neji and Tenten were shocked speechless while Genma didn't feel like speaking to a mute.

"This is a serious manner. During this mission you will be delivering this scroll," he indicated a sealed scroll that sat on his desk, "to the Kazekage. You will be allowed into Suna, but you must be careful; any indication that we are unfriendly could spark a war. You're not to open the scroll or speak of its existence to anyone other than the Kazekage. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good. In three days, you will meet with a jonin squad from Suna that will escort you to the city. I cannot stress enough the fact that we _must_ keep in good relations with the Sand. Now go!"

* * *

"Why was the Hokage acting like that?" Tenten question from inside her tent. It was dusk now and they had ran the whole time. The trip had been completely silent, only the sound of feet hitting branches proved they were even there. Tenten hated to admit that she found it unnerving.

"I did find it odd as well, I must admit," Neji said from the tent he would be sharing with Genma. The two camouflaged tents were across the fire from one another, giving the camp a cozy feel. Naruto was several feet above them all, laying on a thick branch of a tree with his Watchers. He rarely needed to sleep, so he didn't own a tent. He knew Tenten would share, but he would then have to deal with her talking to him the whole time.

"A higher ranked mission briefing is a far more serious matter than those pathetic C- and D-rank missions you performed so far. Basically: the more serious the mission, the more serious the briefing and debriefing." Genma sat near the middle of the circle of tents, laying on his back and staring at the sky. He tilted his head slightly and was about to say something, but closed his mouth instead and turned back to the slowly setting sun. "Neji, Tenten, if Naruto doesn't wake in time for his turn on watch, get me up instead." The girl looked up the tree in surprise and caught sight of a sleeping Naruto wrapped in startling white bone. She nodded before taking a short nap.

_**--------------------------------------------------------**_

Naruto hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the cool air and calm dusk was a rarity in his dead house. He had closed his eyes for just a second and his body had shut down. Forcing himself into a highly recuperative sleep cycle, Naruto found himself in his mindscape. A never ending field of short black grass spread out before him, dotted occasionally by large black trees covered in red leaves and long thorns. Relaxing under the largest of these trees was the nine tailed fox, Kyuubi. The Beast King was tethered to the tree, but Naruto didn't want to push the creature; sometimes the fox could be quite helpful. Laying next the great beast, Naruto watched the shifting blue/grey clouds that blocked the normally black sky until Kyuubi spoke.

"The clouds only appear when you are under great stress. What ails you boy?" he asked in a toned down version of his normally booming voice. Shifting his head, Naruto could see that Kyuubi hadn't even open one of his great eyes.

"Why? You have never shown a vested interest in my life, other that keeping me alive." Even if Naruto didn't like to push the beast, he new he wouldn't do anything horrible. He valued his own life after all. Kyuubi chuckled a bit before shifting into a tanned, humanoid male wearing only white ceremonial pants and a blood red sash. The man's long red hair billowed like a lion's mane over his broad shoulders and chest. He opened his crimson eyes to gave at Naruto.

"That hurts, Naru-kun. I have shown a great interest in your life. I helped you create such a mindscape, I awakened your latent abilities, and gave you my intelligence. How can you say I am uncaring?" Kyuubi asked in a mock hurt voice.

"Everything you have ever done was for your own survival. Its not like I won't grow old and die anyway." Naruto moved himself and sat cross-legged before Kyuubi.

"I wouldn't allow it!" Kyuubi could help but chuckled at Naruto's shocked face. "Demonic cells don't have the same fragilities as human cells. They wouldn't break down after several centuries of replications. And as for my inquiry, rain always follows these kinds of clouds. I abhor the rain." They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kyuubi sighed and flopped onto his back, closing his eyes at the same time. "Sing to me boy," he commanded. Naruto complied without complaint; for some odd reason, his voice suffered no damage from nonuse if he used it in his mindscape.

"_Dead men lying on the bottom of the grave  
__Wondering when savior comes, is he gonna be saved?  
Maybe you're a sinner into your alternate life  
Maybe you're a joker, maybe you deserve to die_

They were crying when their sons left, god is wearing black  
He's gone so far to find no hope, he's never coming back  
_They were crying when their sons left, all young men must go  
He's come so far to find the truth, he's never going home"_

As Naruto sang, skeletons began to pull themselves from the black ground and move towards the two. Most of bone soldiers wore ripped armor and dented helms, but two were clothed as old kings. The army split into two factions, each headed by a king.

"_Young men standing on the top of their own graves  
Wondering when Savior comes, are they gonna be saved?  
Cruelty to the winner, bishop tells the king his lies  
Maybe you're a mourner, maybe you deserve to die_

_They were crying when their sons left, god is wearing black  
He's gone so far to find no hope, he's never coming back  
__They were crying when their sons left, all young men must go  
He's come so far to find the truth, he's never going home"_

The two armies clashed and fought all around Naruto and Kyuubi, who had opened his eyes to watch the proceedings. The soldiers battered each other with shattered spears and broken spears, but there was no clear winner yet. The two kings battled it out in the center and were nearest to Naruto, who paid no head to them. Their iron swords locked at the hilts in a stalemate.

"_Welcome to the soldier side, where there is no one here but me  
People all going to die, there is no one here but me"_

One king overpowered the other and dumped him onto his back, leveling his sword at his fallen opponent. The grounded king grabbed and abandoned spear and pulled his feet from under him, aim to take his head off with it. By this time, both armies had killed the others off, leaving none to witness spear behead on king and a sword decapitate the other.

"_Welcome to the soldier side, there is no one here but me  
People on the soldier side, there is no one here but me"_

Just as Naruto finished, the ground absorbed the skeletons, leaving no trace of the battle. Kyuubi lifted his gaze to the sky and smiled. The clouds had vanished and a full, blood red moon stood out in contrast to the black sky. The Beast King chuckled again before falling asleep, he wouldn't have to deal with the rain after all.

**

* * *

**

Three days after their departure found Team 3 on the border of a small neutral country and the Land of Wind. It was here that the scruff of grass and brush dwindled into sand. They had been waiting for an hour before a Suna jonin, wearing bandages and white fabric to hide his face, came into view and walked over to Genma. Though he was a safe distance away, the three genin tensed in preparation of an attack. Genma made a "stand down" gesture with his hands before meeting the jonin at the boarder line.

"You are the ones Kazekage-sama wish to see?" the jonin asked in a deep but even tone. When Genma nodded, the jonin signaled to others hidden in nearby sand dunes. "Can I see some form of identification?" He asked as three children walked up. Two of them, a blonde and one in black clothing, wore Suna headbands but the redhead, who looked to be the youngest, had none.

Genma cast a curious gaze in the three but handed his team's id papers. "I was told a group of jonin were to be our escorts."

The jonin handed the papers back to him before answering. "These three are as good as any jonin." When he saw the other man's incredulous look, he continued. "They know more about fighting in the desert than you. Anyway, you could see it as a sign of trust, the three of them are the Kazekage's children."

The blonde girl walked up to stand in front of Naruto and held out her hand. "Hello, my name is Temari," she said in a friendly manner. Naruto stared at her for a moment before he stepped back a pace and stuck his hands into his trench coat pockets. Three of the four tensed, expecting an attack, but Tenten mover forward.

"He doesn't mean to be rude, Naruto's a mute and anthrohobic; just ignore him." Tenten was so caught up in keeping peace, that she missed Naruto's flinch at her words. "I'm Tenten." She held out her hand and Temari shook it. As Neji stepped forward to introduce himself, Naruto turned and walked the quarter mile to where they left their packs. Dog and Crow were hidden near his pack because Genma didn't want to scare their allies, but Snake had refused to be moved. He stayed under Naruto's trench coat the whole time. He adjusted his pack slightly and sat next to it, allowing the other two Watchers to settle down next to him.

He had just closed his eyes, not to rest but because there was nothing to look at, when he heard the crunch of footsteps and Snake shifted until its head appeared out of the coat. Naruto opened his eyes to see the silent red head standing over him. Naruto held his gaze as the boy raised his hand and clenched his fist closed.

"Sebaku Soso."

_--------------------------------------------------------------_

After noticing Gaara's absence, Baki looked around and, to his horror, saw his charge sending his sand to cover the mute boy. The jonin thought the boy wouldn't have been allowed to be a nin if he was born in Suna, but to keep on friendly terms, he needed to be saved. "Temari! Kankuro!" he yelled as he jumped towards Gaara and Naruto. "Stop Gaara!" The whole group began to run towards the two and Baki noticed that the boy didn't even open his eyes as sand overcame him. The Suna nin were surprised when Naruto did open his eyes, they held no fear.

They had almost reached the boys when Baki heard the words he dreaded, "Sebaku Soso." The sand completely covered the boy and imploded. The group stopped dead as Gaara threw the large clump of sand to the side, where a small puddle of blood formed.

"Why Gaara?" Temari asked as the group moved slightly closer. Her brother had never blatantly gone against orders and they had gotten direct orders from their father to not harm the Konoha nin. "He did nothing to you."

Gaara ignored her and started to walk away, only to find that he was unable to do so. Looking down, he saw skeletal hands reaching out of the sand keeping him in place. Gaara used his sand to knock the hands away, but felt more grab him from behind. He was shocked to find that his Suna no Tate was unresponsive to his plight. Skeletons rose from the ground and surrounded Gaara, who couldn't move due to the ones holding him.

The shocked speechless nin watched as the sand coffin shifted and Naruto stood. He had removed his trench coat, exposing a grey shirt and an almost sickly thin body. An animal skull covered his face and head while bone bracers covered his arms. A spine attached to ribs ran down each of his legs, protecting it as well as ANBU armor. All together, he looked like a specter rising from the pits of Hell.

Naruto's eyes had changed from blue to red and became slitted. "I'm just a ghost," he said in a gravely but deadly voice. "So I can't hurt you anymore…" he voice grew louder, causing goose bumps to form on the nin's arms. "So I can't hurt you anymore!" he tipped his head back and yelled into the sky. As he did, the skeletons came together and formed a large bone creature with glowing yellow eyes and a beating heart that could be seen inside the otherwise empty chest cavity. "And now, you wanna see how far I can sink? Let me go!" At Naruto's yell, the creature came alive, stood at a towering nine feet, and roared. "Kuchiyose: Ryu Kokki."

The creature roared again and moved to grab Gaara, who hastily performed Sebaku Taiso. The sand crushed the beast's arm, but the other one swung around to knock Gaara and his Suna no Tate across the land. As the sand settled, Gaara saw a streak of white before a clawed, bone thin hand grabbed his throat and squeezed lightly. The trapped boy looked up to see red eyes and bared fangs. Naruto's demon-possessed face grew closer to Gaara's panicked one until he was close enough to whisper, "I won't deal with your shit, Shukaku. Leave my container alone or I'll kill your's." For emphasis, Kyuubi squeezed Gaara's throat a little tighter before releasing it and stepping away, putting the Ryu Kokki to rest as he did so. Gaara stumbled back and fell, bringing his arm up to cover part of his face.

"Monster…" he mumbled. His voice seemed to snap the onlookers out of their shock. Temari and Kankuro ran over to Gaara and began to check him over while the rest moved towards Naruto. The boy shuttered violently as he gained control of his body.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Genma asked his student. The jonin worried briefly over the seal, and even more briefly over Konoha-Suna relations, before he was just plain worried for his student. He had never heard Naruto speak, let alone yell, or seen him use those moves; it was quite the experience. When Naruto nodded, Genma turned to Baki, who was staring incredulously at Naruto.

Before he could speak, Baki said, "Don't worry, relations with Konoha maybe even better now. I have never met someone strong enough to beat Gaara." He turned his gaze to Genma. "How do you keep control over such a beast?"

"By not calling him a beast," Genma answered in a low tone. "We allow Naruto to keep his skeletons and corpses, his silence, and his dignity. Our village hates him, but our Kage doesn't force him to do things he doesn't wish." He sighed. "The only thing we can do is hope that it is enough."

Baki broke Genma's gaze to look back over to Naruto. The boy did a full body shudder and the bones covering him fell and shifted into his Watchers. Once they were completely formed, the others could see that Naruto was hurt after all. Several scrapes and scratches covered his chest and head, but blood dripped slowly from a thin but deep wound on his side. Baki turned to check on his own charges and saw that Temari had Gaara up, but all three were shooting scared glances at Naruto. "Do you think that it is enough?"

Genma saw Naruto ignore his teammates completely and allow a small, child-sized skeleton to crawl onto his back. He then grabbed his coat from the ground and donned it. His Watchers took their usual spots as Naruto pushed past Tenten and Neji to walk in the direction of Suna. "I very much doubt it."

* * *

Well, hope this better than the previous chaps, and hope someone still likes this story! This is for Dark Orb's birthday present! Hope you like it!!!!!


	5. thgiF

A/N: I'm not gonna apologize for the long wait, nothing I say feels right to me. My only excuse: school's a bitch. End of story. Oh yea, and who ever Shade () is, they get a mental high five, cause they are fricken awesome. Leave me an email address or at least sign in so I talk to you whenever. Nathan, you are still my fav person on here, don't get jealous. Warning: this chapter has some funny bits, some of which you won't understand because they car personal jokes.

* * *

"I'm going for a walk," was all the little slip of paper dangling in front of Genma's face said. Naruto was standing off to the side with Snake hanging off his shoulder, with the note in his mouth, looking down at the jonin. Genma froze, for just a second; the genin looked like Itachi, glairing down at his opponent right before he finished them. But the moment passed and Genma shook his head, both to clear the image and to give permission, not that Naruto would have listened if he had said no. The boy reeled in Snake, the bones somehow had started to grow a layer of sickening black, half-rotted skin, unwrapped from the boy's thin neck and slinked to the sandy ground of their camp with a strange dry sounding noise. No one said anything as the boy took off his pack and heavy coat and set it near Dog and Crow, also growing dark skin, who were lazing a way from the others. From his back, a black child-size skeleton crawled off and sat near the pack as well. Without so much as a glance at anyone else, Naruto walked off into the night with Snake following behind him.

As Naruto was swallowed by the shadows, the Suna jonin spoke. "Is it wise to him to walk by himself? Even with the fire, he may loose his way and we don't have the time to search for him. We are running on a short timeline and your team is moving slower than we would be ourselves." Even worse in Baki's opinion would be the boy running into more Suna nin out on patrol. He left this unsaid. "If he gets hurt by anything, then our village can not be held responsible."

"Of course," Genma said, nodding. "Naruto can take care of himself with only one skeleton with him. You saw the bones rise from the ground; now imagine the number of bodies hiding under the 'bloody sands' of Suna." Two of the sand genin shivered. "He also knows when _not_to attack someone," he said with a hard look at an apathetic Gaara.

"Naruto is far stronger than anyone gives credit." Neji was on watch duty, but no one really expected an attack, so it was only a formality. He was sitting with his back to the fire, watching the shifting sands of the desert. "He has survived more than you would think." Neji said these words almost wistfully, as if he knew something about Naruto than the others did. Everyone was silent was a long time, only the low sound of sand being shifted by the wind could be heard.

A cold wind suddenly blew sparks up into the sky, glinting red on something metallic out past the low dunes. Neji stood suddenly and gripped a kunai in front of his chest, as if expecting a fight. The fire flew up again, but the object didn't reappear. "A knife." Neji put the weapon was in his holster and sat back down. "Snake got somebody. It is too far away to be clear, but Naruto is in no danger."

"You care very much for that beast." Kankuro felt extremely uncomfortable being around two containers, Gaara was more than enough for him. Every time he looked t the skinny blond, every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was the wraith emerging from the sand and the skeletons pulling themselves from the ground. He shivered just remembering it. He couldn't help but hate him, and he had a lot of hate built up over the years.

"Naruto isn't so bad," Tenten said when the other two leaf nin gave the puppeteer a sharp look. "It just takes sometime to get used to him. He can be a little…odd, but that's just who he is."

"That is who he was _made _into." Neji added on. Kankuro made a contentious sound and opened his mouth to speak, but Neji continued. "He is no beast." He sent a cold look towards his other team member. "You need to listen to yourself and follow your own words. You-"

"Enough." Genma had heard enough. "You are doing nothing but sounding like children arguing back and forth like that." They were also appearing foolish before a group of nin form another village, one that they were trying to form an alliance with. Utterly childish behavior that would get them killed.

"And how are you so knowledgeable, Hyuuga-san?" Baki asked.

"I was assigned to watch over Naruto after Hideaki's," he pointed to the child skeleton for a second, "death and following revival." The group of bone creatures all focused on Neji suddenly, their attention swaying from the sand. Dog raised his hackles and what skin it had pulled back from its fangs in an obvious sign of aggression. Silence fell over the camp and wasn't broken until the nin made their way to their tents to sleep, leaving Gaara and the bones to watch over the camp. No one slept well that night.

* * *

Something was calling to Naruto. It was a feeling in his stomach, an itch on his neck, a shiver running down his spine. It was death and a lot of it. A grin unknowingly found its way on the half-crazed boy's face. It was several minutes before Naruto got the first body, bloody from a large puncture wound through a man's chest. He walked on without much care, only wanting to catch the one creating such carnage. All he found were more bodies, creating a red path headed slowly in the direction of Suna. It appeared to be nothing more than a bandit camp, an almost successful one if the smells of alcohol and filth under the one of blood were anything to go by.

Naruto cocked his head to the side, scenting the air, as the wind blew. The desert was hotter than he expected, but the barrenness he loved. It was just like in his forest, surrounded by the dead. Snake let out a dry chuckle that echoed through Naruto's head as they passed a man whose face had been cut vertically in half. 'What is so funny, please, do share.'

'I finally figured out how to stop a clown from smiling.' Naruto stopped and gave the rotten snake a curious look. He continued after crawling up the boy's jacket to settle in his usual position around his neck. 'Hit him in the face with an axe!' Snake laughed hysterically as Naruto rolled his eyes and continued into the center of the camp. In one broken tent, they found a man lying with a woman, both skewered together by a spear. 'Well, at least we know he's as strait as a broken boomerang.'

'Please stop this horribly failing attempt at comedy.'

'No way, this is way too much fun.' As they walked around, Snake kept making jokes, the more Naruto complained, the worse it got. 'Ooh, that man wasn't circumcised,' he commented as they passed what had been used as a bathroom. The man in question was completely bare of any coverings and was held up to the washing bench by several knives stuck through his body. 'Someone should have kicked his sister in the jaw a couple of years ago.'

'Oh, god. I think I'm going even more insane.' Even now, his smile didn't waver; instead it stretched crazily from one side of his face to the other. If the moon was full, its light would have reflected off of the almost bleach white teeth.

'Hey, do you know how to confuse an idiot?' For some unfathomed reason, Naruto felt like joining his Watcher in saying stupid jokes.

'26. How does a crazy person get through the woods?'

'They take the psycho path. Why don-' The bad joke was interrupted by the sounds of bottles breaking and thick voices coming from behind a dune. Naruto didn't bother with stealth because any noise he would have made was covered by the loud talking before him. He stepped around the final large dune blocking the people from his sight, but once he saw them, he kept in the shadows of the night that were not banished by their small fire. Two dirty and drunk men sat next to each other while they huddled to keep warm in the now piercingly cold wind of the desert at night. Naruto had no problem with the cold and hadn't realized how bad it was to other-normal-people. The two were passing a bottle back and forth, each time a little more slowly than the last.

Hey Kazuma, hey, look" the shorter one stood, holding the bottle aloft. "I've got the cheese and you can't have it! I'm th' best..." he fell to the side as his friend stumbled into him and grabbed the bottle.

"No, I've got the cheese and you can't have it." He twirled in a circle like a dancer before falling over into the sand.

The other man stood and pointed at Kazuma. "Give it back, cat face, or I'll sic my zombie army after you!"

"You can not defeat me!" Kazuma puffed out his chest. "I'm a wizard!" He said this proudly despite his companion's obvious confusion.

The drunk stopped dead for a second. He finally spoke, sounding as sober as Naruto had heard him so far. "What the hell is a wizard?"

Kazuma lazily got up and tried to dust himself off. He failed miserably and gave up, leaving half of his face coated in sand granules. "I mean vizard!"

He shook his head as he raised his arms in a warding off gesture and shook head, backing up at the same time "..........You're crazy man."

"I will kill you with my ninja kittens!!!!" Kazuma suddenly leap forward and smashed into his companion. They wrestled for a moment before the other man threw Kazuma off of him.

"You're fucked up man."

If it was possible, Naruto's smile grew even wider as Kazuma tackled the other and they began to tumble in the sand again. He formed hand seals slowly, reveling in the feeling of his twisted chakra running through his veins. On his last hand seal, Snake for slipping into the mind, he focused on the more drunk of the two, Kazuma. "Obieru," he whispered in a gravely tone.

Kazuma suddenly froze, allowing the other to get away from. He retreated to the edge of the shadows near Naruto. Kazuma screamed and held his head, making the other jerk back suddenly at the loud noise. Kazuma's eyes turned completely black and he began to convulse, foamy blood began to bubble up from his open mouth as he twitched on the ground. "Help me, Captain Dark. Please!" He screamed again. "It's in my head. They're in my head!"

"It's the aliens," he sobbed out from the ground. "They're eating my brain and making me see people in wheelchairs! The giant cat, he has my cheese! Please, captain dark, you have to help me get it back!"

The other shook his head and began to back away, almost running into a excited Naruto. He turned, getting a look of the boy and rotting snake and bolted as fast as a man who had never had a single job of liquor. Faster even. Kazuma got up and stumbled in the retreating man's direction but only found Naruto. He couldn't see him, but he could almost feel his impending doom. He stepped back a pace and pulled out a rusted and chipped knife. It blazed red for just an instant as the man ran towards Naruto, but the color died just as he did. Instantly as Snake lunged and pierced his throat, wrapping around him, cutting him with sharp bits of bone that were uncovered.

'Tastes nothing like chicken.'

'More's the pity.' Naruto cracked his neck and back before heading back towards camp, in the same direction as the "Captain Dark" person. His smile never left his face, even when replaced his coat and leaned against his pack to watch the rest of the night.

_**

* * *

**_Naruto and Gaara were staring at each other from across the room, which Tenten and Kankuro found completely aggravating. Neither of them had blinked for the ten minutes their jonin sensei's had left them to go talk with the Kazekage. They had both said that children had no place in such negotiations. Gaara, Temari, Neji, and Naruto had all accepted the order without complaint, but Kankuro and Tenten had looking down. The other two were watching the two warily, as if expecting one to suddenly lash out to the other. After another minute, Kankuro got tired of it and stood.

"Why are both just staring?" Gaara blinked and glared at his brother, breaking contact with the blond container. With a low growl, the sand nin pulled out a small change pouch and tossed the thing at Naruto, who caught it easily. The blond opened it and dumped in into his palm, several coins fell into his hand. Naruto silently counted them and nodded slightly when he saw that they were all there. He quickly put them back into the pouch and placed it into one of his coat pockets. Silently, as always, Naruto pushed off of the wall he was leaning on and stepped towards the door.

He had opened it when Kankuro got up and moved towards him. Snake, the only Watcher in the room, pulled himself up from Naruto's shoulder and focused a slowly forming gold eye on the nin. He stopped instantly. "You shouldn't travel around the village by yourself, people may see you as an invader."

Something passed by Kankuro, making him jump. Naruto caught the object, a crystal badge of sorts, and looked at Gaara, who threw it.

"Let them see that." Gaara said before opening the single window and leaving ass well. Naruto shrugged and pocketed the badge covered in small wind designs. He left to follow the feeling of death he had felt back in the desert. The one who had destroyed the bandit camp was now in Suna. Descending the stairs and walking the streets of Suna was nothing interesting to Naruto. Here was the same as Konoha, everyone went out of their ways to get out of his path and all conversations grew quiet as he passed, the same thing he went through in his own village.

Only once was Naruto stopped, and that was by children offering him a small pear-like fruit for defeating "mean Gaara-san" as they called him. These children were pulled away by their parents and scolded in harsh whispers. They meant nothing to Naruto. He was only interested in finding the one he hunted. His trail lead him to the Kazekage's dome-like tower, but then curved around it and down a disguised alleyway. Following this small road, Naruto felt his insanity returning and his smile forming on his face. He relished in the absolute the person had in their own craziness, they were able to have enough power to catch his interest _and_hold it but they were not caught as they gave off such an aura. Gaara had an aura as well, but it was nowhere near as strong when affecting Naruto. Either they were powerful, or the Kazekage allowed them to be in his village. Interesting, either way.

Before he could realize someone was behind him, distracted as he was by contemplating his own madness, three people had surrounded him. The grin widened and Naruto began to fight with the reckless vigor of a person desperate for bloodshed. "Kasei: Sune-kudansu," Naruto said while pumping Snake full of chakra. This, unlike Obieru, he had never used in a combat situation before, but Naruto was far too bloodthirsty to think before using. Snake stiffed out straight and what skin he had stretched out to cover the space between the bones, forming a staff-like object. The staff's snake head opened wide and a wicked-looking blade extended from the opening. This all happened very quickly and after only 5 seconds, instead of a rotten Snake, Naruto was holding a fully formed scythe. Naruto handled the scythe with the care of a madman and used it to cut through the people with the skill of a surgeon. Only one was good enough to dodge his first two slashes and even had the ability to push the crazed boy back.

"You shouldn't have come here, but now I'm not bored anymore." The man, obviously a nin in disguise, fell into an odd taijutsu stance and closed his eyes to concentrate. He could hear everything around him, even his friends' labored breathing. He tried to focus on his enemy, as he did in any serious fight, but was unable to do so. The man opened his eyes in confusion, just in time to see a grinning and coatless Naruto cut him horizontally in half at his waist. As the body fell, it sprayed blood all over Naruto, who only raised his face to the spewing liquid. He looked over to where the man had been looking when he was cut down. Naruto nodded at his twin, who was looking on dispassionately, and the twin nodded back before changing into Hideaki, skin and all. Naruto's coat hung off of him and billowed to the ground, but the hollow-eyed boy left it there.

"Interesting. Though they were weak, you took them out in less than five minutes. You are something else." Naruto turned from his fleshed out skeleton companion and focused on a tall white haired man standing in Naruto's way down the alley. But as the constant wind of Wind Country blew towards Naruto, the boy's eye widened almost comically. Naruto didn't care about anything anymore. Not the body, not the blood, not Hideaki. This was the one Naruto had been looking for in the desert. This was the man giving off an aura of controlled madness. This was the one Naruto wanted to test himself against. He moved faster than he thought possible, if he had actually been thinking under his spell of madness, and brought the heavy scythe down on the man. The man brought up his hand and caught the tip of the blade, much to Naruto's delight. He focused his bright green eyes on Naruto's rapidly darkening ones, and smirked. "This should be entertaining."

_**

* * *

**_

* * *

Enough action for you crazies? Like it? Please tell me. Oh yea…

Obieru- to have a nightmare. The victim looses his mind because he looses all sensory functions.

Kasei: Sune-kudansu- Transformation: Snake Dance. Snake turns into a scythe (like from soul eater). I have more on the way, so look out for new jutsus.

* * *


	6. tixE ycnagremE

Stab. Dodge. Left. Down. Left. Back. Right. Parry. Forward. Slash. Guard. Feint left. Stab. Dodge. Left. Down. Left. Back. Right. Parry. Forward. Slash. Guard. Feint left. Stab. Dodge. Left. Down. Left. Back…

"You are talented, I will admit." And the boy was. Even with a full length scythe, heavy as it is, he would switch between a two-handed hold for upward slashes, left hand on the grip and right on the snath, to a single grip. He'd never seen anyone use a scythe with such deadly abandon. "Far better than the trash that live here." Stab. Dodge. Left. Down. "But you are quite predictable." An opening appeared just as the crazed boy lifted his arm to attack downward and Kimimaru took the advantage. He ran forward and aimed his bone sword at the boy's heart when the expected slash came. Suddenly, the boy grabbed the butt of the scythe with his right arm protecting his heart and leaving Kimimaru's Tsubaki no Mai to pierce his forearm, doing very little actual damage. Naruto released the grip and twisted his wrist, the blade sang in the air as it arced down then back up. The sharpened outer curve bit coldly into the Kyuga's flesh, but bone instantly exploded outward, trapping the blade. The boy only smiled a crooked grin of sharp white teeth.

"Hehehe," the boy laugh was deep, guttural, and insane. "Hey Snake, sorry, that's my fault. All my fault." Kimimaru wouldn't admit it, but the voice would have sent shivers down his back if it wasn't for the strict training he had gone through. "I'm having far too much fun." He released the scythe, it clattered to the ground and returned to animal-form almost immediately, and lifted his hands and gripped his face in an odd fashion, covering his right eye, as his voice echoed slightly in the alleyway. "Crow is coming. My fault, takin too long. Too much fun." His visible eye focused on Kimimaru again. "Yeah, I know. Finish it."

"Too arrogant." The boy suddenly let go of his own face and grabbed Kimimaru's face in the same way he had held his own, ignoring the bone spikes that pierced his palms. The boy moved in close to his face as the rotten snake circled around Kimimaru's body, trapping him.

"Playing with you has been fun, I've learned a lot." His gaze hardened. "See you in hell. Hideaki, headhunter." A scraping noise sounded. The boy he had seen earlier jumped onto the other's back and gripped his forearm. As he moved his hand down the limb, it changed into a thin, lance-like object that looked like a smaller version of his Tessenka no Mai. The smaller boy rammed the sharp point into his throat, almost strong enough to shatter the protective layer of strengthened bone Kimimaru hastily used to save his life. A small stream of blood ran down from the where the blade cut his flesh and was quickly absorbed by his shirt.

"You aren't strong enough to kill me." His curse seal instantly activated, spreading warmth and strength through his battered body. His muscles were rejuvenated, his reflexes increased three-fold at least. Faster then even he himself could see, Kimimaru threw off the animated reptile corpse and the smaller boy away, leaving the other exposed to his punch to the chest. The hand exploded out of his back, covered in blood and gore. The boy looked at him with open eyes, his shock and curiosity mingled into the insanity and dulled it. After a second, Kimimaru yanked his hand out and away, creating a bigger hole and splattering blood everywhere. The boy gasped like he had awakened from a deep sleep and pressed on his wound, but held his ground even as his breathing became labored.

"Why won't you die?" The guttural yell tore at Kimimaru's ears. It was an odd sound, as if under toned with a voice that was far more terrible than anything that could be found in the world. A twisting dark energy pervaded the voice promising agony that would never end.

The following silence was broken by a slow clapping. "Wonderful. Quite an entertaining fight. From both of you." The voice promised pain and pleasure equally; curling around the mind like the snake offering the sweet, succulent forbidden fruit. It was just close enough to tempt the senses but too far to reach out and hold in the hand; Kimimaru knew that silky voice that made the strongest of otonin both flinch and sigh in pleasure; his master Orochimaru.

"My lord," the last Kyuga spun around and hastily performed a low bow as the man appeared from the darkness, "I had no idea that you were watching. I had meant to deal with the interruption before it had come to your notice." As he straitened, he noticed that the blood surrounding his wound had changed from a dark red to a mud brown. Human blood didn't coagulate that quickly with a small scratch, let alone a gaping hole in the chest.

"Not much escapes my notice," Orochimaru grinned, sharp white teeth seemed to glow in the darkness of the alley. "Especially such an interesting fight. You have grown exponentially stronger since your birth, Naruto-kun."

"I know you?" The insanity bled completely out of the boy's eyes as a deep blackness began to replace the bluish-purple color of his iris. Blood flowed from around his fingers, slipping easily to the ground in small rivulets to pool at his feet. The skeleton snake rustled on the ground, seeming to thrive in the blood streaming onto its empty skull. A dark light glowed menacingly within the skull that was ignored by everyone but the sharp gold snake eyes. It was all very interesting to him. His years of experiments had given him quite a good sense of potential; the boy shaking from blood loss before him was setting off every radar in his mind. Orochimaru could see a future where everything was under his thumb with the help of the container of the Kyuubi. Kimimaru obviously had a strong effect on the boy and the snake would use that to his advantage.

Orochimaru took a few steps forward until he was just at the edge of the slowly expanding pool of blood. He noted the unnatural amount of blood that was dipping from the boy and the darkening eyes staring at him. Before he could say anything, Naruto spoke. "Your body dies, but not the soul." His wicked smile grew as the boy's confused frown did. "You are not a demon, a human, or a Fallen. What are you?" The split voice was back as was a twinge of the insane glee in his eyes. Orochimaru opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the harsh caw of a bird. A blur of black passed his head by mere centimeters before landing on Naruto's shoulder. The arrival of the half rotten raven seemed to be a signal to the rest of the skeletons, because they both crawled their way up his body; the snake wrapped about his chest and arms, the boy on his back peeking out over the bird.

Naruto took a deep breath and his eyes shifted towards the Kyuga next to the snake. He vanished in an instant, blood splattering on the ground like rain as he rushed forward. He trust his hand inside Kimimaru's chest; he could feel an odd sensation of something moving in his lungs. His skim flowed back together as Naruto slowly pulled his hand out covered in a thick black gunk. It made a discussing plop as it slid from his digits to the ground. Naruto moved in close to Kimimaru's startled face. His breath was hot on his face. "Try to stay alive long enough for a rematch. I'll be waiting." He looked to the bird. "Kasei Maichimonji."

The skeleton let out a harsh call that seemed unearthly before it broke apart, merging with the small childlike skeleton to form large demonic wings attached to Naruto's back. The wings were made of a semi-transparent red membrane stretched tight over black bone. Without any signal on Naruto's part, the wings spread out wide, swelling as they filled with air. Wind whipped at the two staring at him as the wings shot down, propelling him a few inches into the air. Three more harsh strokes had Naruto completely in the air, hanging feet above the other two nin.

"Naruto-kun," the boy looked down his nose at him, "when Konoha casts you away, and you know they will, the country of Sound will be the only ones willing to take you in. I will be willing to keep you as I keep Kimimaru." Naruto sent one more glance towards the two, before turning into the wind and disappearing as the uplifting force of the heat of the Suna day drew him away. Orochimaru chuckled darkly as he turned into the darkness of the alley, walking back to the hidden door leading to the room given to him by the Kazekage. "Don't look so down, Kimi-kun. You just survived defeating the nine-tailed demon king. The first one I can recall." Kimimaru said nothing as he followed, mind occupied with the feeling of having a hand in his chest.

_**

* * *

**_

Naruto knew he couldn't stay in the air long, not for a lack of want the hot desert air made for a smooth and long flight even in the darkness of night but because of the hole in his chest. It wasn't fully healed even with the fox's chakra working double-time to close the wound and keep him in the air. He was exhausted from the fight and the killing rage that had filled him, drove him into madness, was completely gone, leaving him as hollowed out as a cinder from a day old fire. Cold and numbness tugged at his limbs as the shadows continued to dance in the edges of his vision. Crows intervention had been a much appreciated distraction that had pushed back the madness, but it was still there, waiting under the surface of his skin for the slightest sign of weakness for it to escape and continue to consume. It was a solid mass of confusing thoughts and rage that threatened to swallow him whole and never let him go.

Naruto's wayward thoughts were brought back to focus on the task of flying when one of the wings brushed against a fall. He was falling towards the ground. Enervation had sneaked up on him while he was distracted by his frightening thoughts. His control over his own mind slipping, Naruto leaned too heavily to the right and a wing slammed into the wall, crumpling immediately, but he couldn't feel anything. The Kyuubi was in control and guiding his container to the ground even before the pain could register.

"You sure know just how to border on destroying yourself don't you?" He laughed before bring the uninjured wing close to his body. The effect was instantaneous, he dropped the few feet to the ground, landing in a dark alley much like the one he just left. By the smell of dust and decay, the beast king knew it had been abandoned for some time. He was able to stand for only a second before his legs collapsed and the Kyuubi's back hit the ground. He growled to the empty air his anger at the situation. "Such a creature as I should never have my body on the ground like some peasant." Dust blew away from him in an angry cloud. "I hate you for this boy. Waking me up from my nap just to land in a filthy place such as this. Just for that, I'm not helping you with the Fallen." Somehow, he managed a grin at the situation; If Naruto made it past this hurdle, he would grow exponentially in power. "I know you can impress them."

"You have abandoned us." The dry voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness surrounding Naruto. It was a complete darkness and he was unable to see the slightest of outlines, but he could hear things shuffling around him, whispers curled around him, just quiet enough to where he couldn't distinguish words. He could feel some kind of rough fabric-wool maybe-binding his arms to his sides tightly, but not painfully. Skeletal arms crisscrossed over his chest, pressing him against a cold wall of stone. A hand suddenly ran through his longish hair, ruffling it against his cheek in an almost caring manner. Naruto was torn, caught b between pleasure from the caress and not wanting someone to show such familiarity to him. The thing-could he call an unseen and probably dead hand a person? continued stroking his hair and he let it do as it wanted. It wasn't like he could do anything to stop it with his arms bound so tightly.

Naruto didn't know how long he hung in the darkness before the voice spoke to him again. "You have used our soldiers and abilities, abused our gifts, sung a Fallen around with the care of a madman wielding a katana." The fingers in his hair twisted painfully, nearly pulling it out by the roots. "Even the former king was better than you. He may have had very little respect for our power, but at least he repaid our kindness.." He had no idea what they were talking about. Kings and repaying kindness meant nothing to Naruto. It was then that the whispers became loud enough to hear; the Fallen around him were chanting a haunting melody about bones and souls of their ruler, their leader, their King.

"I never wanted to be your king." His words silenced the whispered hymn and only eerie silence answered him. "I only have a need for your power." The darkness pressed in, compressing Naruto's body as the bindings were ripped away, leaving him to float in the constraining shadows. The pressure built around him until it felt as if his bones would shatter.

"And what will you do with it?" the speaker was mocking him now, speaking to him in the crooning voice of an adult entertaining a child. "You're a mute living in a tree who cannot sleep without your dead friend." Naruto could almost hear a grin in its words. "Tell us," at this, the whispers broke out again, "how can we best serve you, our King?" He was struck dumb at the blatant attack of his life. When everything was laid out in such a condescending way, all of Naruto's actions and reactions in his life appeared childish. "You understand nothing. We have given you so much and yet you refuse us?" The pressure began to worsen until Naruto could actually hear his bones straining under it. "Maybe if I shatter this bone and break this heart, our true king will be set free of his wretched cage." Something had to give under the pressure.

It was Naruto.

"Enough!" The crushing weight was gone, but not Naruto's rage at the situation and his own ignorance. "Explain this to me!" he yelled to the inky blackness. "Explain all of this to me. Now!" The two-tone voice that had startled Kimimaru was back, but Naruto knew it was his own power fueling it and not the fox's.

"We are the Fallen, servants to our king, We have great power, as you have sampled over the years." The voice sounded tired, resigned in a way. "Loyalty is guaranteed to our King, transgressions against Him are unthinkable and impossible…to a certain extent." He paused dramatically before continuing. "No matter what you may think, it was not your power which stopped me from eliminating you. As King, I am unable to kill or harm you. Other, weaker souls cannot even stand the mere thought of placing you in any situation that may prove dangerous at all. Still others will swarm to your side should you cut your finger turning a page." The fingers returned to their smooth caress. "The only thing we demand in return is death. Consider it a payment of sorts."

A small voice whispered directly into his ear and Naruto finally understood it all. Well, most of it. "The villagers that attacked me, their death satisfied the cost."

"Yes, but you have not been paying your dues as of late. The more power you exploit from us, the more death needed to counter it." The voice seemed to lose its tired quality and became smug. "_To rule the Fallen is to become the Fallen_, not just pretty words, but advise passed through the line of kings. A ruler is only as strong as their people and must be open to said people's emotions. The Fallen's natural bloodlust has been leaking into your consciousness. Been having fun?"

"I almost died and yet I want to fight him again. Are you causing this? And the new jutsu?" Naruto had never felt this confused before. Everything he thought was his, was not. He had been surviving on the powers of others and accepted it as his own. Where did he end and the Fallen begin?

"A king must defend his people from threats. You see him as one, so you feel the need to either defeat him or join along, as the rulers of the ninja," it spit out the word, "do everyday. But as for the new abilities your Watchers have shown…perhaps Death is evolving." Something shook Naruto violently and he felt himself begin to wake from the darkness surrounding him. Voices grew up put the surroundings, calling his name, wanting to be heard, fearing to be forgotten. It all tore through the boy but it slowly faded as he woke completely.

"You okay demon boy?" A rough voice asked as a shadow blocked his view of the rapidly paling sky. Naruto groaned as a disk in his back popped loudly; the fact that he spent the entire night lying on the ground was not lost upon his aching shoulders. Something within him seemed changed, altered, but Naruto couldn't place it. He knew his life wouldn't be the same after his talk with the Fallen.

"I am no demon," Naruto's voice hissed out of his throat like the skeletons', rough and chilling. "Not yet." He would change to better serve the Fallen, if only to save his sanity and skin in the long run. Bright light from the rising sun burned his eyes as the silhouette shifted away from him. "The sun isn't even fully risen yet," he said with a groan. He closed his eyes despite the danger the person might bring him.

"Well that's kinda creepy. So brat, why ya here? Huntin me?" The metallic _sheen_ of a drawn knife cut the silent air of the alley. "You scared me bad a couple of nights ago but now you're just pathetic lookin. All that juice you've been putting out all night brought out some nosey Suna nin, but lucky for me, you dropped your pass." Something small and dense fell onto Naruto's chest, pushing the air right out of him. "Who knew such a pretty little crystal held such a sway over the ninja here? Aww well, it did its job. Just as I am." The ground shook, something passed Naruto's face by millimeters, and a rough thud echoed through the air in the minute it took Naruto to open his eyes and allow them to adjust to the light. When he could see, a concerned Snake slithered near his head protectively. From his spot on the ground, Naruto could see that Dog had the man pinned to the ground some distance away from him.

_Give the order and I will silence this man._ Dog's "voice" sounded different, more formal than before. It held an edge of uncertainty and wariness while still being the soft sounds that had led him through his very difficult life. It was an odd change.

_He know something._ Snake's thought echoed Naruto's own, but he was still unsure. _But, it is still your order of course, my king. _

"Stop talking like that. I'm no different," he growled out loud.

_But you are. _Crow hopped into view next to the other skeleton. Hideaki was nowhere to be found. _The knowledge you have gained changes everything about all things. _Naruto shook his head in denial, but winced as pain rushed along his back and spine. _You hurt your back in the fall. It has set wrong. _

Painfully slow, Naruto picked himself up off the ground, but was unable to rise from a hunched position. The crystalline object given to him by Gaara fell to the ground without a sound. His spine hurt equally if he straightened or bent down any farther. It was agony to hold himself in the small clearway between two fiery hells. He could just barely make out the man's face. It was dark when he last saw it, but Naruto recognized him from the night traveling in the desert in search of the insanity. The remembrance of the coy feeling of darkness sliding over his skin like velvet gave him the shivers and brought the feeling to the forefront of his mind. Pressure formed behind Naruto's eyes as whispers filled his ears, a jumbled mess of words without meaning or understanding.

"Shut up" he hissed out between clinched teeth. His ears popped, then he heard no more of the whispers. Warmth enveloped his ears and trailed down his face. In his peripheral vision, Naruto could see dark blood dripping from his face tot the ground.

…_take his body…_A deep voice whispered to him, a wicked, malignant muttering that promised pain. _…Exarion can do it…Command it, it shall be done…You know how_…

Thoughts not his own raced through his mind. Naruto didn't have the slightest clue as to who Exarion was. Words ran across his eyes and Naruto spoke without meaning to. "Exarion…Kasei Oushi." Sound returned to the world just as a scream of pain and horror rent the air. The man on the ground thrashed violently as the bones that were Dog's body sank into his skin. He clawed at his face and neck, as if trying to kill himself; blood ran in rivulets down to the ground from the tears in his skin. It seemed an hour, but it was only a few minutes before his muscles clinched and then he stilled on the ground like a puppet with cut strings. Naruto held himself still as darkness surrounded the man; he could practically see his soul being bound in agony to the Fallen. The shadows dragged his soul through the ground, taking him to the home of all those killed and forced to served the king. What was left was hollow shell of flesh and bone.

That shell twitched before rising smoothly from the ground. Gold eyes peered at Naruto carefully, as if judging something. He seemed to like what he found, because the man performed a complicated bow. "Exarion, here to serve in any way possible, my lord." Naruto just eyed him. Dog's voice and way of speaking were coming out of his mouth, but was this Exarion really him? His eyes crinkled and a small smirk crossed his features. "I assure you, I am the Watcher previously known as Dog. Exarion is merely a name. One that must be unlocked before my true power could be seen." He cocked his head to the side, listening to something on the wind. It gave him an animal appearance that was not lost on Naruto. It had to be his most trusted guardian.

"We need to leave. Now." Exarion nodded before lifting him carefully into his arms, being extra sensitive to his injured back. Crow and Snake crawled on top of Naruto, a surprising comfortable weight. Hideaki crawled out of the darkness and onto Exarion's back. Within seconds, they were all back inside the room given to them by Suna for use during the mission.

Naruto ignored his teammates insistent questions and Genma's disapproving look with ease. The team was uncomfortable around Exarion even after Naruto explained-in writing as he wasn't comfortable dealing with the questions that would arise after speaking to them-that he was just another Fallen. The travel home was far more uneventful than the way to Suna, as all of Naruto's energy went to fixing his back and being sure to not damage it anymore. He spent his time slowly delving into the dark world of his mind to learn everything he could about the Fallen.

_**

* * *

**_

Naruto was glad to be home, glad to be back amongst the hollowed out trees of his stretch of forest. Death was a palpable thing here; the sugary scent of decaying flesh and dusty air of aging bone filled the small clearing to the brim. It was ambrosia to the young ninja. Nothing lived in this wasteland of hanging bodies, all the animals stayed away from this place without any action of Naruto or the fallen. Their natural curiosity was curbed by instinct that screamed at them to stay away. This was death's dominion. Too bad the revenge seeking Konoha villagers had sold their instinct away ti their easy life of living in large groups.

Naruto didn't know the man who's blood covered his face and arms. The man had screamed for him to stop, but so had he those many years ago. They hadn't listened, so he didn't feel the need to. It was all too easy to slice open the neck, the soft muscles there giving easily to his kunai. As he twitched on the ground, Naruto held him down, putting those newly awoken Fallen arm to keep the flailing limbs from getting in his way. Naruto slowly, methodically, cut into his attackers skin, going only deep enough to slice through the layers of dermis on the man's chest.; a vertical and horizontal cut made a distinct T. Blood bubbled and flowed from the wound but it didn't slow Naruto or make his grip slip.

The deranged ninja turned his knife slightly, positioning it right at the intersection of his two slashes. Naruto had never practiced his skinning skills, so it was sloppy at difficult places, such as the junction of the arms and the torso as well as the transition from front to back, but he soon had a full hide drying on the dirt next to his house. Sometime during the act, the villager had ceased breathing, but Naruto felt that he had enacted his vengeance adequately for now. "At what point does a person cease to be?" he lamented to the empty air. "When does one lose the privilege of holding a name and simply becomes a body?" Naruto continued to speak to himself as he returned to the corpse.

He replied his blade to the muscle, swiftly cutting it away from the precious bones hidden away by the useless meat. "Why does the value diminish simply because the heart is no longer beating, the lungs no longer breathing, the brain quiet?" Naruto was finished now and had stacked all of the bones reverently in a pile. They were the only meaningful pieces in it anyway. He would clean them later.

"You assume that they had value when they were alive. I believe this to be false." A cold voice spoke from behind Naruto, not startling him, but calming for some reason. The wind blew the scent to his face, the dark, thick, almost bitter taste of insanity. Naruto looked up into crystalline blue eyes. Eyes that had drove him crazy with the urge to kill for the past month. Eyes that held power, strength , and intelligence. Eyes that made him weep because they were so much like Hideaki's. "Such cretins never hold value. Not in life and not in death." Naruto began to laugh as the insanity tugged at his senses, dulling his ears while focusing his sight.

"What is life but a horrible precursor to death?" He managed out between his giggles. A grcefull white eyebrow arched elegantly over those murder-inducing eyes.

"What indeed?" The eyes left his face as the older teen turned way, headed towards the only path that lead out of the death trees. Naruto left out one final laugh before he grabbed his coat and followed. His Watchers and Fallen gathered up the skin, bones, and Hideaki before following behind the two cold blooded killers. A new violent chapter was unfolding itself around Naruto and he would follow the scent of chaos wherever it led him. For chaos bred insanity and that meant blood. Blood, the thing he, the Fallen King, craved the most.


End file.
